South Dakota Public Broadcasting is supported via three major funders: the
audience, the state of South Dakota and federal sources.
The state of South Dakota maintains much of the SDPB infrastructure. SDPB is
a division of the South Dakota Bureau of Information and Telecommunications,
a state agency. The state pays the salaries of SDPB employees, buys
equipment for the network and provides space for the network operations
through the University of South Dakota, a state-supported school.
Federal funding includes yearly support from the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting. In addition, the network has acquired more than $5 million in
grants since 2002 from federal sources to help pay for the conversion to
digital broadcasting.
SDPB operates under the guidance of the seven-member Educational
Telecommunications Board, an organization first set up by the South Dakota
Legislature in 1967. Members are appointed by the governor. The board holds
SDPB's broadcast licenses, sets goals, reviews expenditures and makes
recommendations for the operation of the network. Friends of SDPB is
governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.
The Friends of SDPB is the network's major source of funding for programming
and programming-related services. Friends is made up of individual
contributors and corporate sponsors. The Friends of SDPB provides money for
programs on the local, regional and national level. In addition, it provides
customer service for the SDPB audience and the monthly program guide with
details about TV, Radio, Internet and Education & Outreach activities. |
